Beijing, May 18 (IANS) At least five hackers who developed tools to break into and modify online computer games have been arrested in China, police said.

The hackers offered tools to enhance the powers of virtual characters in online games "Hero of Gaia" and "Ministry of War" developed by a company based in Suzhou province.

Snail Electronics - the company that made the games - found hacker programmes called "Hero Fairy", "Terminator of Hero" and "Paladin of Empire" free for download.

Players, however, had to buy time cards. A year's use cost 200 yuan ($30) and a month's use was priced at 20 yuan, China Daily reported.

The tool for "Ministry of War" had more than 580 online buyers and brought over 30,000 yuan.

The tools and time cards were sold online by Taobao, the country's largest online retail site.

Police tracked down the hackers in Chengdu and Hefei from addresses and bank accounts at the online shop.

The suspects later said they hacked the games because they were very popular among game lovers.